NYC trying to recover after the storm

New York City tries to recover after record snow fall amounts hit the New York area.

February 27, 2010 6:36:05 AM PST

Eyewitness News

NEW YORK --

The entire New York area is feeling the pain after days of continuous snowfall.In New York City it was the snowiest month on record since 1896.

Central Park received more than 20 inches of snow.

While the city remained open for business, millions of students enjoyed a snow day on Friday. All New York City schools were closed as well as major universities in the city.

"Our first objective is obviously public safety. We'd like to keep the schools open, but there is a point at which sanitation commissioner John Doherty says I just cannot keep ahead of it, and schools chancellor Joel Klein says it may not be safe to get the kids in and out. Then we have a day off," Mayor Bloomberg said during his radio show.

As of Saturday, major roads have been plowed and salted, and now New York city's fleet of snow-clearing trucks is working its way through smaller streets, especially in the outer boroughs.

Alternate Side Parking regulations are suspended through Saturday to facilitate snow removal. However, parking meters will remain in effect.

Also, the Parks Department is advising people to avoid public parks and use caution near street trees. A 46-year-old man was killed by a falling branch in Central Park on Thursday. Numerous cars were also damaged by falling branches and trees along Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side.

Con Edison is urging any customer who loses power to notify the company by calling 1-800-75CONED. Customers can also report outages and check service restoration status online by computer or cell phone at www.conEd.com. When reporting an outage, have your Con Edison account number available, if possible, and report whether your neighbors have also lost power.